Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed.

Pairing: KaitoxShinichi

Heroes and Villains: Blue Moon Island

[Superpower Verse]

Part 14

Alvita Monroe, the author of Blue Moon Island Legends, was not difficult to find. Though she lacked the renown of people like the owner of the Blue Moon Rose, she was, in fact, a decently popular local author who wrote a hodgepodge of books. Most of those books were guides to the island's life, culture and geography, but she had also written several children's books, a history of the island's early settlement, and a handful of novels based around the island's many myths.

In any case, the two agents only had to ask around a little to learn that the author in question lived in a semi secluded, seaside cottage.

They had to meander their way along a winding dirt path to reach the cottage's little wooden gate, and Shinichi took a moment to study the place before proceeding up the flagstone path beyond. The building looked like a picture out of a children's book with its neat little garden and the wind chime tinkling softly from the awning. It didn't quite fit the image of the author they had gotten from the people they had spoken to, who had pretty much all claimed that she was a recluse with a not altogether pleasant temper.

"An honest to goodness doorknocker," Kaito observed, amused. "How very fitting."

Grasping the heavy, brass knocker shaped like a pair of dolphins, he banged it on the door with what Shinichi felt was a little too much enthusiasm.

"Not that hard," he said quickly. "It's rude."

"But we want to make sure we're heard," Kaito pointed out with an unrepentant grin. "Besides, I don't get to use one of these every day."

"To the benefit of everyone else, I say," an unfamiliar voice said sourly as the door before them swung inward to reveal a dark-haired woman most likely in her late twenties. Her eyes were every bit as dark as her hair and sharp like cracked obsidian. With the door only partially open and her other hand planted on the frame, she had positioned herself in the manner of one who was examining the suspicious visitors and not yet considering allowing them over the threshold.

Kaito started to introduce them, but Shinichi made a quick tactical decision and stepped forward first (he strongly suspected that this woman would not react well to Kaito's brand of charm. If anything, he suspected that she would be greatly offended should Kaito approach her as his flirty self).

"My name is Kudo Shinichi," the detective introduced himself. "I'm a detective with the Milky Way Agency, and this is my partner, Kuroba Kaito. We came to this island because we've been hearing some interesting stories about things that have been happening here—like the ghost ship that you wrote about. And we were really hoping we could ask you about them."

The woman gave him a sharp look as though she could see right into his skull and scrape his true intentions from his brain. Her lips pressed into a puzzled but not adversarial frown.

"I guess I can see why a detective would be interested in our ghost ship and the like. Though I don't know why you're talking to me about it instead of the people who hike up there to see it every night."

"Well, the truth is, it's not just the ghost ship we wanted to ask you about," Shinichi admitted. "This may take some time to explain though. Would it be all right for us to come in? Or, if you'd prefer to have this discussion somewhere else like at a café or on the beach or something, we could arrange to meet there later today instead."

Alvita thought this over then shrugged and stepped back, finally opening the door to her cottage wide enough that they could see the rest of her as well as the inside of her home.

Shinichi noted that, though apparently a well to do author on this island, Alvita wore fairly ordinary jeans and sweaters that all looked worn and chosen for their comfort as opposed to their visual effects. A practical woman, he decided. And one who didn't care much for pomp and circumstance.

This predisposed Shinichi to liking the woman. He too had never had much patience for the way so many people spent so much of their time hung up on appearances both literal and metaphorical.

"Coffee or water?" she asked, gesturing them towards her kitchen table.

"Coffee, thank you," Shinichi said.

"Cream and sugar?"

"Not for me."

"Both for me," said Kaito.

A few minutes later, the three of them were seated at the table, each with his or her own mug of coffee. Every mug depicted some sort of seascape. These mugs were well loved and cared for, Shinichi noted when he picked his up. The coffee, it turned out, was excellent.

"So what did you want to know?" asked Alvita.

Shinichi opened his mouth then stopped because he found that he wasn't entirely sure where to begin. Eventually, he settled for, "Well, to put it simply, we're trying to figure out what's going on with the ghost ship and whether there's anything to worry about."

"Go on."

"So everyone agrees that the ship started appearing after the sunken ship and its treasure was dredged up."

"Pretty much," she agreed.

Shinichi nodded. "Logically, there is likely to be a connection. We think it's likely among the treasure. We've been to see the items at the museum, but we also heard that some other people received pieces, and we were wondering if you might have been one of them."

The author's eyes narrowed with a hint of wariness. "And if I am?"

"If you did, we would greatly appreciate the chance to inspect it," Kaito replied.

"For what?" Alvita asked. "Curses? Ancient messages? Forgive me, but I fail to see how getting to see anything I may or may not have gotten would help your investigation. Frankly, I'm not sure why you are talking as though you've already decided there is a ghost ship curse. Isn't it more likely to be someone with a power playing pranks?"

"That's what we thought it was at first too," Shinichi admitted. "But it wouldn't account for everything that's happening."

The woman tilted her head to one side, considering. "What do you mean by everything?"

The two agents exchanged looks.

"We were up at Owl Rock this morning," Kaito said. "We were expecting to hear wind whistling through the rocks. What we got was voices and conversations we could actually attribute times and faces to."

Alvita looked skeptical. "Is that all?"

"On the first day we were here, we met an old woman who was selling magic charms that she said could do things like make someone fall in love or let you choose your desired future for various prices," Shinichi went on. "Only her table—and the entire alley it was in—disappeared the moment our backs were turned. We also visited a restaurant called Koko's where everyone was getting fortune cookies because, apparently, all the fortunes that have been in those cookies recently have come true."

Alvita blinked. "I did hear a rumor about Koko's fortune cookies," she admitted. "But you know, fortune cookie fortunes are always pretty vague. It's easy for them to end up sounding true."

"These fortunes weren't the usual sort," Kaito supplied. "They were—or rather are—extremely specific."

He relayed several of the stories they had been told on the matter. By the time they were done, the author was shaking her head in incredulity.

"You believe all that?" she asked.

"We're not sure," Shinichi said. "But we have reason to think that at least some of it is real."

"You ate there yourselves," the woman realized. "What about your fortunes?"

"Mine came true right away," Kaito said brightly and probably would have happily gone on to elaborate if Shinichi hadn't kicked him under the table.

Alvita obviously noticed. She expressed this with a raised eyebrow. But she also noticed Shinichi's red face and got the idea. She turned red too and hastened the conversation along.

"I think I understand what you're getting at," she said. "You're describing events that reflect some of our island legends."

Relieved, Shinichi nodded. "Yes. We were reading your book and discovered that a lot of our strange experiences matched the stories you told."

"I was just sharing old stories though," the woman said. "They're not really mine even if my versions have become more prevalent since my collection was published. And that doesn't explain your interest in whether I have a piece of the treasure. Unless you're telling me you've gotten to examine all the pieces at the museum. Have you?"

"Well, no, but we came to you for a reason," said Kaito. "You see, we have a hypothesis about what might be causing these legends to come true."

"Really?" Intrigued, Alvita leaned forward. "What is it? It's not a superpower. It wouldn't follow the observed trends."

Kaito nodded. "Indeed. You see, through our research, we know that there is an artifact that can, to put it simply, change the world based on the ways someone near it thinks."

This statement earned him a dubious stare. "Are you talking about real magic?"

"You could call it magic or extremely advanced science. Or both. Whatever you call it though, it was created a long time ago, and pieces of it are still out there."

"And you're saying one of those pieces was in that treasure."

"Exactly."

"And if you do find what you're looking for, you'll take it away."

"Well, it isn't the sort of thing that should be left alone. It has to be neutralized before it can cause real harm."

"You realize that sounds ridiculous."

Kaito looked amused. "Where do you think superpowers came from?"

Alvita stared. "You're serious."

Though incredulous, it wasn't really a question. She could see the answer in their faces.

"No offense, but this sounds like the sort of scheme a very strange scammer might come up with for getting a hold of valuable loot."

The two agents stared at her, one flabbergasted, the other bemused.

"Okay, I'll give you that one," Kaito said. "But we mean what we say."

"You can contact Milky Way if you need our identities verified," Shinichi added, still feeling a bit put off.

Alvita, however, just waved a dismissive hand. "No. That's all right. I do keep up with the news. I recognize both of you. I was just saying, it would be a lot easier to just assume that you were thieves. This whole story…" She trailed off, shaking her head. "You want me to believe that every story I wrote in that book is actually real—and that they're not real because legends come about because of real things happening. They're real because I said they were while in possession of some strange, ancient pieces of technology."

"It's our best hypothesis at the moment," Shinichi replied. "We can confirm or disprove it by examining the piece you got."

Alvita didn't deny that she had gotten something now. She didn't, however, look convinced of their theory either.

"Would it help to see some of these legends for yourself?" he asked.

Alvita opened her mouth, paused then nodded. "Actually, it would."

-To Be Continued-